Luke 15:29

And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: AND HE ANSWERING SAID TO HIS FATHER, LO, THESE MANY YEARS DO I SERVE THEE, NEITHER TRANSGRESSED I AT ANY TIME THY COMMANDMENT. These last words are not to be pressed beyond their manifest intention-to express the constancy of his own love and service as a son toward his father, in contrast with the conduct of his brother. So Job, when resenting the charge of hypocrisy, brought against him by his friends, speaks as if nothing whatever could be laid to his charge: "When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold," etc. (Job 23:10). And David too (); and the Church, in a t...

25-32 In the latter part of this parable we have the character of the Pharisees, though not of them alone. It sets forth the kindness of the Lord, and the proud manner in which his gracious kindness is often received. The Jews, in general, showed the same spirit towards the converted Gentiles; and numbers in every age object to the gospel and its preachers, on the same ground. What must that temper be, which stirs up a man to despise and abhor those for whom the Saviour shed his precious blood, who are objects of the Father's choice, and temples of the Holy Ghost! This springs from pride, self-preference, and ignorance of a man's own heart. The mercy and grace of our God in Christ, shine almost as bright in his tender and gentle bearing with peevish saints, as his receiving prodigal sinners upon their repentance. It is the unspeakable happiness of all the children of God, who keep close...

Verse 29. _NEVER-A KID_] It is evident from Luke 15:12, that the father gave him his portion when his profligate brother claimed his; for _he divided his whole substance between them_. And though he had not _claimed_ it, so as to _separate_ from, and live independently of, his father, yet he might have done so whenever he chose; and therefore his complaining was both _undutiful_ and _unjust_....

A KID - A young goat. This was of less value than the calf; and he complains that while his father had never given “him” a thing of so little value as “a kid,” he had now given his other son the “fatted calf.” MAKE MERRY WITH - Entertain them give them a feast. This complaint was unreasonable, for his father had divided his property, and he “might” have had his portion, and his father had uniformly treated him with kindness. But it serves to illustrate the conduct of the scribes and Pharisees, and the folly of their complaint....

EXPOSITION LUKE 15:1 The _Lord speaks his three parable-stories of the _"lost," _in which he explains his reason for loving and receiving the sinful._ LUKE 15:1, LUKE 15:2 THEN DREW NEAR UNTO HIM ALL THE PUBLICANS AND SINNERS FOR TO HEAR HIM. AND THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES MURMURED, SAYING, THIS MAN RECEIVETH SINNERS, AND EATETH WITH THEM; more accurately rendered, _there were drawing near to him. _This was now, in the last stage of the final journey, the usual state of things. The great outside- class came in crowds to listen to Jesus. These were men and women who, through home and family associations,

AND HE ANSWERING, SAID TO HIS FATHER,.... Commending himself, and reflecting on his father: LO, THESE MANY YEARS DO I SERVE THEE; for though he was called a son, yet differed little from a servant; he was of a servile disposition, and under a spirit of bondage; he served his father, not in the Gospel, but in the law, moral and ceremonial; in the letter of it, and not in the newness of the Spirit; externally, and not internally; from fear, and not from love; with mercenary views, and not freely; with trust in, and dependence on his service, seeking justification and eternal life by it, and not with a view to the glory of God; and this he had done "many years"; from his youth upwards, as the Pharisee in Matthew 19:20 whereas his younger brother had never served him, but his own lusts; and yet as soon as ever he was come home, before he could enter upon service, this enter

This is a chapter that needs no explanation; it carries its key within itself, and the experience of every child of God is the best exposition of it. The three parables recorded here set forth the work of saving grace in different aspects. Luke 15:1. _Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them._ The Pharisees and scribes formed the outside ring of Christ's hearers, but the inner circle consisted of the guilty, the heavy-laden, and the lowly. They pressed as near to Christ as they could, that they might catch his every word; and besides, there was an attractiveness about his manner that drew them towards him. His mercy attracted their misery. They wanted him, and he desired them; they were thus well met. There will be an inner circle tonight when the

CHAPTER 15 __ 1. The Murmuring Pharisees. (Luke 15:1) 2. The Parable of the Lost Sheep. (Luke 15:3) 3. The Parable of the Lost Coin. (Luke 15:8) 4. The Parable of the Prodigal Son and the Elder Brother. (Luke 15:11 .) Luke 15:1 A blessed climax of the teaching of our Lord as the Saviour and the friend of sinners is reached with this chapter, a chapter which the Saints of God have always loved and will always love. Here we find the completest illustration of the key text of Luke “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save t

LUKE 25. THREE PARABLES SHOWING GOD'S LOVE FOR THE LOST, AND HIS JOY AT THEIR RESTORATION. The three parables in this chapter have no definite note of time or place. An introduction is supplied from Luke 5:29 f. (Mark 2:15 f.). Both the introduction (sinners crowding to hear Jesus) and the parables strike the new noto that Jesus came to sound the direct interest in and appeal to the outcast (_cf._ p. 622). This parable (Luke 15:3) must mean the parabolic discourse, embracing the three illustrations. The Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin form a pair, and represent the bewildered sinner and the unconscious sinner, while the story of the Prodigal Son forms an exquisite picture of the sinner who deliberately chooses his own path, an

THE SHEPHERD'S JOY (Luke 15:1-7)...